S |
|
47.5% |
P |
|
52% |
U |
|
39% |
R |
|
38% |
S |
|
39.25% |
= |
|
43.15% |
P W D L F-A GD Pts
4 0 2 2 4-8 -4 1
Position:-
8th
2 Cup Matches
Jose Mourinho
Team Selection |
4.58 |
Tactics |
4.22 |
Substitutions |
4.78 |
Overall |
4.52 |
ˇ February 2020 figures
ˇ Last Year's figures March 2019
Sheepish review of March
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, the saying goes. With football and all of sport on hold while the country and most of the world is in the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic it seems irrelevant to even compose a review of the four matches that our beloved Spurs did manage to play this month. I certainly feel sheepish about the process. However, Spurs Odyssey has an archive of over 22 years online and in years to come this item may carry more relevance than it does now. Our only urge is to "Stay Safe" and to come out on the other side of the crisis, whenever that may be.
It already seems ages ago, but football for Spurs fans ended only just over two weeks ago in Leipzig, when we just managed to miss the experience of games being played behind closed doors, as they were in some of the Europa League games two days later, and other games in the Champions League. Our March programme was curtailed by the postponement of the home games against Manchester United and West Ham.
When I say I cannot remember a month in which we failed to win a single game, that's because it is a long time ago. Four years, to be precise, when the 2015-16 season ended with the drawn "Battle at Stamford Bridge" and defeats at home to Southampton and disastrously away to Newcastle, meaning we finished "third in a two-horse race".
That was a part-month which featured three games. This March we played in just four games, losing two, and drawing two. Mind you, one of those two draws led to our exit from the FA Cup against bottom club Norwich.
Head coach Jose Mourinho suffered defeat to two former protégés in consecutive weeks. In our last game of February, it had been Frank Lampard's Chelsea. Then on March 1st Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves beat us 3-2 at "New" White Hart Lane. The new stadium has yet to prove itself as the fortress we hoped for in its first year. We have lost 8 out of 28 games played there so far. Make that 9 if you include the FA Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Norwich.
For some reason Jose chose to use all three of our first team goalkeepers in the four games we played. Hugo suffered a niggly injury, so Paulo Gazzaniga got the gig against Wolves, but why emergency third keeper Michel Vorm played the Norwich game remains something of a mystery. Vorm did not cover himself with glory and when he leaves the club again it is likely to be with a very low grade for his one appearance.
Dier and Dele started every game this month. There is no news yet on the FA investigations and potential disciplinary action regarding these two players. Dier climbed into the lower West Stand at the end of the Norwich game, apparently because he saw his brother being abused by a person in the crowd. Dele made an inappropriate tweet about the Coronavirus in February, before the pandemic became one of worldwide proportions.
Lo Celso played in every game and was player of the month. He now leads our player of the season list. Serge Aurier and Lucas Moura also played in every game. These players started three games and came off the bench in one other. In a month where personal performances took a downturn in most cases, those of Eric Dier and Erik Lamela showed a degree of improvement.
Spurs were destroyed in the Champions League at Leipzig, but we were missing six key players. Surely no team weakened in this way could have beaten the German side, who, if the Champions League does eventually continue, will give any team a good game.
There was a debut for 17-year-old defender Malachi Fagan-Walcott (no relation to the former World Cup tourist currently on Everton's books as far as I know) in added time at Leipzig. Malachi celebrated his 18th birthday the day after this personal landmark appearance.
Jan Vertonghen was on the bench and was comforted by Mourinho at the end of the game, when we learnt that Jan's family had been subjected to a burglary at knifepoint while he was away with the squad. Fortunately, none of Jan's family were injured.
Victor Wanyama finally left the club and joined Thierry Henry's Montreal Impact who play in the US Major League. Before the impact of the Coronavirus Victor even managed one game in the CONCACAF Champions League, and guess what? yes, he was booked!
While we are all in limbo, you might want to sign up at bet-bonuscode.co.uk for any one or more of the offers listed. Many of the available offers refer to online entertainment available even now.
It remains to be seen whether or indeed when this season will be concluded, and if it is, whether the fans will be able to attend. One thing is for certain. There will be no April review this year. Maybe Spurs will be playing football in June again, but we won't be in the Champions League.
ˇ Review the 2019-20 Premier League season here
Don't forget to check out the players' current figures re. appearances, cards, goals scored and accumulated ratings to date at the bottom of this page.
...if you want to read reports of the matches played during this season, then links are on the Spurs Odyssey Fixtures/Reports page here. By working your way back through the previous month's figures, you can review performances over the last 19 years!
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